LMG: The Next Generation

I have served in my role as the chair of Let’s Make Games for 2 years now, and the time has come for myself and a few others to step down from our roles. As such, Let’s Make Games is looking for the next generation of representatives interested in supporting and furthering the WA game-making community. Whether you’re an aspiring game-maker, already working within the industry, or just generally interested in supporting local creatives – why not raise your hand to be a part of the Let’s Make Games committee?

Committee roles that need to be filled

Many who are stepping down from the current committee have been serving in their roles for much longer than 2 years. There are a variety of reasons why they are stepping down from their positions, but for the most part the people stepping down now have simply been at it for a long time or have had some big changes in their work balance that make them less available for committee duties. This means that many of these people have now decided to step down from their roles at the next AGM. As a not for profit organisation, LMG is required to have certain roles filled in order to continue; these are known as the Executive Committee.

It is immensely important to note that these roles must be filled for Let’s Make Games to be able to continue to operate.

• Chair – The Chair is the official leader of Let’s Make Games, and is (as much as possible) the external face of the organisation. Their core responsibilities involve driving and officiating committee meetings, holding the committee accountable, representing the organisation at industry events, and generally representing the organisation.
• Vice Chair – The Vice Chair works closely with the Chair to help manage their duties and the duties of the members within the organisation. While the chair is generally responsible for representing the organisation, the Vice Chair is more responsible to seeing to the internal function of the organisation and its members.
• Treasurer – Even as a non-profit, Let’s Make Games has funding come through that must be dispersed for community events. The treasurer is responsible for maintaining the organisation’s financial records, guides the committee on whether or not budgets should be approved or denied, and prepares financial reports at each AGM.

There are also roles available for those wishing to run events, such as coordinating Perth’s Global Game Jam, the Perth Games Festival, and being LMG’s Website/Social Media Manager. Support from exiting members will be available to assist the handover process, and further training may be available if required. These roles are not required to be members of the ordinary committee, and can be run by members of Let’s Make Games, or even just persons in the community willing to cooperate and coordinate with the LMG Committee. However, committee membership is certainly beneficial to executing the responsibilities of these roles.

So what does the LMG Committee do?

Let’s Make Games is known for supporting hubs online and offline for WA game-makers, as well as running key events such as Global Game Jam and the Perth Games Festival. This is made possible through the efforts of community members (like you) volunteering their time to be a part of the LMG Committee that coordinates these efforts.

If you want to ensure the WA games community can continue to access the LMG hubs and events, and have the capacity to volunteer your time, please consider joining the LMG Committee. Or if you want to see Let’s Make Games expand its capacity to support the WA creatives, and feel you have the ability to drive that forward, please consider joining the LMG Committee!

The recent LMG committee has focused its efforts on industry advocacy, as well as strengthening the organisation to better support community safety and an inclusive environment. This has involved a review of the Let’s Make Games Constitution, community guidelines, and an update of internal policies and By-Laws that allow for clear and enforceable consequences for abusive behaviours. Where the organisation goes next and what its focus is will be entirely up to the collective conscience of the next committee!

When is the AGM?

The Let’s Make Games Annual General Meeting is scheduled for the 28th of November. At this meeting the aforementioned executive roles will step down, all roles within the LMG Committee will go up for re-election if they desire to return to their roles, and new applicants can raise their hand to be a part of the organisation.

Members will vote on who they feel would be most appropriate for the positions; for roles with only one applicant, the position will be filled by them automatically unless there are objections. If an applicant is not yet a member of the organisation, a vote to have them join must first occur.

What happens if the positions are not filled?

As a not-for-profit organisation run by the community, for the community, Let’s Make Games relies on driven individuals to raise their hand and take on the task of supporting one another. Without an Executive Committee to take the organisation forward, LMG will be forced to cease operations and disband. This is not an outcome current members want to occur, so we are urging the WA games community to come together to keep Let’s Make Games moving forward!

How and when should I sign up?

To raise your hand for a role in the committee, please fill out the expression of interest form here!

We will stop taking expressions of interest for the committee on the 27th of November, with anybody that submits the EOI before that date expected to attend the meeting on the 28th of November. Details of the meeting location and minutes will be provided, however it is heavily suggested that if you are interested in any of the roles that you fill out the EOI as soon as possible to reduce any chance of issues on the date of the AGM.

Matthew Dyet
Chair, Let’s Make Games